St Patrick is the Patron Saint of Ireland and is attributed with ridding Ireland of "snakes" and promoting Christianity. The former is perhaps a metaphor for converting pagans to Christ. Check this site for more information: http://wilstar.com/holidays/patrick.htm Mostly, in Ireland, it's a great holiday with a parade and partying which the Irish love. Also, unlike in North America, the Irish don't only wear green on St Paddy's day, but they wear all the colours of the Irish flag, orange and white included. In former years St Patrick's day has become a great celebration of Ireland and being Irish. Not necessarily the original intention, but it has sort of evolved into this. This is how the Irish celebrate St Patrick's Day: http://www.stpatricksday.ie/cms/ The Irish are very proud of being Irish, and with good cause. :)

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, died on March 17, 493. So St. Patrick's Day is held on the anniversary of his death. In the Catholic Church, it is also his Feast Day. For Kim and High Flight: Catholics "celebrate" Feast Days in honor of significant events or persons. While many others may celebrate it for different reasons, practicing Catholics, and particularly Irish Catholics, do indeed celebrate St. Patrick's Feast Day, which happens to be on the anniversary of his death, March 17. My apologies for wording my original answer poorly, but I feel it did address the question.

Celebration is part of St. Patrick's Day, but it is observed in honor of Saint Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland. Within the Christian calendar Patrick has long been remembered with fondness. This began as early as the ninth century AD with the Feast of St Patrick's "falling asleep" - in other words his passing on 17 March. The Book of Armagh included a note directing all monasteries and churches in Ireland to honour the memory of the saint by the celebration, during three days and three nights in mid-spring. Hence St. Patrick's Day began. Who was St. Patrick? (see http://www.answerbag.com/q_view.php/4338). The Americanized St. Patrick's Day is more or less a day to celebrate one's Irish Heritage. Or if one isn't Irish, just to join the fun. As the text below states, it was intended to be a religious holiday in Ireland. It is actually a National Holiday in Ireland which somebody here already mentioned. St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for thousands of years. On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink, and feast—on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage. The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place not in Ireland, but in the United States. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City on March 17, 1762. Along with their music, the parade helped the soldiers to reconnect with their Irish roots, as well as fellow Irishmen serving in the English army. Over the next thirty-five years, Irish patriotism among American immigrants flourished, prompting the rise of so-called "Irish Aid" societies, like the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick and the Hibernian Society. Each group would hold annual parades featuring bagpipes (which actually first became popular in the Scottish and British armies) and drums. No Irish Need Apply Up until the mid-nineteenth century, most Irish immigrants in America were members of the Protestant middle class. When the Great Potato Famine hit Ireland in 1845, close to a million poor, uneducated, Catholic Irish began to pour into America to escape starvation. Despised for their religious beliefs and funny accents by the American Protestant majority, the immigrants had trouble finding even menial jobs. When Irish Americans in the country 's cities took to the streets on St. Patrick's Day to celebrate their heritage, newspapers portrayed them in cartoons as drunk, violent monkeys. However, the Irish soon began to realize that their great numbers endowed them with a political power that had yet to be exploited. They started to organize, and their voting block, known as the "green machine," became an important swing vote for political hopefuls. Suddenly, annual St. Patrick's Day parades became a show of strength for Irish Americans, as well as a must-attend event for a slew of political candidates. In 1948, President Truman attended New York City 's St. Patrick's Day parade, a proud moment for the many Irish whose ancestors had to fight stereotypes and racial prejudice to find acceptance in America. Wearing of the Green Goes Global Today, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by people of all backgrounds in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Although North America is home to the largest productions, St. Patrick's Day has been celebrated in other locations far from Ireland, including Japan, Singapore, and Russia. In modern-day Ireland, St. Patrick's Day has traditionally been a religious occasion. In fact, up until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17. Beginning in 1995, however, the Irish government began a national campaign to use St. Patrick's Day as an opportunity to drive tourism and showcase Ireland to the rest of the world. Last year, close to one million people took part in Ireland 's St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin, a multi-day celebration featuring parades, concerts, outdoor theater productions, and fireworks shows. From http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/stpatricksday/main.html

a celebration of saint patrick !

Saint Patrick's Day (Irish: Lá 'le Pádraig or Lá Fhéile Pádraig), colloquially Paddy's Day or St. Patty's Day, is the feast day which annually celebrates Saint Patrick (373-493), the patron saint of Ireland, on March 17. It is the Irish national holiday and one of the public holidays in the Republic of Ireland (a bank holiday in Northern Ireland); the overseas territory of Montserrat; and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. In the United States, Australia, and rest of Canada it is widely celebrated, although not an official holiday.

I have a son named Parrick - I believe they were Saint's at one time -- I get a kick out of getting pinched if your not wearing green I wonder where that comes from -

According to wikipedia, the supposed history behind St. Patrick's Day is as follows... "The person who was to become St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was born in Roman Britain about AD 385. His given name was Maewyn, and he almost didn't get the job of bishop of Ireland because he lacked the required scholarship. Far from being a saint, until he was 16, he considered himself a pagan. At that age, he was sold into slavery by a group of Irish marauders that raided his village. During his captivity, he became closer to God. He escaped from slavery after six years and went to Gaul where he studied in the monastery under St. Germain, bishop of Auxerre for a period of twelve years. During his training he became aware that his calling was to convert the pagans to Christianity. He wished to return to Ireland and to convert the native pagans to Christianity, but his superiors instead appointed St. Palladius. However, two years later Palladius transferred to Scotland. Patrick, having adopted that Christian name earlier, was then appointed as second bishop to Ireland. Patrick was quite successful at winning converts which upset the Celtic Druids. Patrick was arrested several times, but escaped each time. He traveled throughout Ireland, establishing monasteries across the country. He also set up schools and churches which would aid him in his conversion of the Irish country to Christianity. His mission in Ireland lasted for thirty years. After that time, Patrick retired to County Down. He died on March 17 in AD 461. That day has been commemorated as St. Patrick's Day ever since. Much Irish folklore surrounds St. Patrick's Day. Not much of it is actually substantiated. Some of this lore includes the belief that Patrick raised people from the dead[2].He also is said to have given a sermon from a hilltop that drove all the snakes from Ireland. No snakes were ever native to Ireland[3], some scholars think this is a metaphor for the conversion of the pagans. Though originally a Catholic holy day, St. Patrick's Day has evolved into more of a secular holiday. One traditional icon of the day is the shamrock. This stems from a more bona fide Irish tale that tells how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day. The St. Patrick's Day custom came to America in 1737, the first year St. Patrick's Day was publicly celebrated, in Boston, Mass. Today, people celebrate the day with parades, wearing green, and drinking beer."

Patrick preached and converted all of Ireland for 40 years. He worked many miracles and wrote of his love for God in Confessions. After years of living in poverty, traveling and enduring much suffering he died March 17, 461. He died at Saul, where he had built the first church. From: http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=89 Why a shamrock? Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Trinity, and has been associated with him and the Irish since that time. In His Footsteps: Patrick was a humble, pious, gentle man, whose love and total devotion to and trust in God should be a shining example to each of us. He feared nothing, not even death, so complete was his trust in God, and of the importance of his mission.

PATRICK’S EARLY LIFE St. Patrick (real name: Patricius Magonus Sucatus) was born in Britain to a wealthy family near the end of the fourth century. He probably died on March 17, around 460 A.D. Although Patrick’s parents were Christians, and his father was a church official, they do not seem to have taken their faith too seriously. When Patrick was about sixteen years old, he was taken prisoner by Irish raiders and became a slave. For six years, he was a shepherd in Ireland, before escaping to Britain. His escape was more than it seemed: he had heard a voice from God. Over the next 15 years, Patrick prepared himself to serve God wherever He would send him, and studied at a monastery in France. It must have been a shock when God told him to go back to Ireland, but Patrick didn’t hesitate, even though his superiors wanted him to take up a position as bishop. PATRICK IN IRELAND There were a few Christians in Ireland before Patrick came, but they were persecuted. Most Irish were believers in many gods, and in magical heroes. Patrick’s mission was to encourage the Christians already there, and to spread the news of God’s forgiveness to all Irish. This he did, travelling from one end of the island to the other, preaching that Christ had died to pay for the sins of every person, and that He rose to prove his power over sin and death. On the way, he used symbols such as the ‘shamrock’ to teach the Trinity the belief that God is Three-in-One. The story that he rid Ireland of snakes has a very interesting significance: the snake was the symbol of the local pagan religious leaders. Patrick singlehandedly broke their hold over the Irish. "It was not my grace, but God who overcomes in me, so that I came to the heathen Irish to preach the Gospel . . . to a people newly come to belief which the Lord took from the ends of the earth." PATRICK’S ACHIEVEMENTS . Patrick established the Christian Church throughout Ireland, by making it part of the fabric of the people. As he travelled throughout the country preaching, and teaching, he arranged the building of churches, schools and monasteries. He used the bards, the storytellers, to teach Christian doctrine and knowledge of the bible, and he trained up local people to take his place. Saint Patrick left behind his own writings, which survive to this day. One of the most famous of these is called ‘St Patrick’s Breastplate’: Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me. Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger. St Patrick also wrote the “Confessio”, his autobiography. It is full of quotations from the Bible, and praise for Christ his Saviour. That was the foundation of St Patrick’s life. If you want to honour Patrick on his special day, honour Jesus. That is what this saint would want. . I testify in truthfulness and gladness of heart before God and his holy angels that I never had any reason, except the Gospel and his promises, ever to have returned to that nation from which I had previously escaped with difficulty. –St Patrick

St Patrick's Day is a Saint's day, in fact virtually every day is the day of one Saint or another. A majority of people have no religious belief at all and so have no reason to celebrate any Saint's days. However, St Patrick is the Patron saint of Ireland and Ireland is a predominantly Roman Catholic country, so the Irish quite naturally celebrate the day of their Patron Saint. A lot of people emigrated from Ireland to the United States and took the tradition with them and it grew from there, in the same way that celebrating Christmas and Easter has grown, even among people with no particular faith.

Contrary to all other answers, to this question, full of fact, and "truth" it is just a day to get drunk, and we like it that way, keep it simple, and get trashed once a year for the sole purpose of keeping it silly. Plus, remember to tip the bartender, and assign someone to be the designated driver, no, better yet, call a cab.

It is a celebration of leprachauns